From pulp fiction, one good habit
In a far corner of the warehouse, back in the dust and shadows, there are some books I haven't seen or read in more than four decades. I no longer remember the plots or characters or dialogue, but I do remember the pleasure of reading them. Sometimes I wonder: Did those books start my interest in detective stories, or was I drawn to them because I already had a fascination with dark secrets and the way those secrets might be revealed?
I don't know; that's one mystery the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew don't seem up to solving. Maybe a bit of both. Between the ages of 8 and about 12, I devoured as many of those books as I could find at the Carnegie Library in Kalispell, Mont. -- dozens of each, I'm sure. It wasn't until I was a young adult that I discovered, to my annoyance, that there was no such author as Franklin W. Dixon or Carolyn Keene. But by then I had gone on to darker fare: Raymond Chandler, John MacDonald -- even a bit of Mickey Spillane.
I know: a middle-aged man's recollections of his halcyon youth can get tiresome real fast. And I know without having to reread them that most of those early teen-detective series were, and remain, mostly crap. But I believe that for better or worse, they helped form one habit I can't help but appreciate: reading a book in bed each night before going to sleep. They're not always crime novels and some have been masterpieces -- I was unable to sleep for a couple of nights after finishing "In Cold Blood" when I was 16. It remains one of the most chilling things I've read. I wept on my pillow after "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- although, come to think of it, that could almost be crime fiction too: a secret revealed after a alleged rape, two homicides and a harrowing assault on a child.
My adult children are all avid readers, and I like to think it's because I encouraged them to be at a very early age. If they ever get around to thanking me for it, I'll just tell them to thank Frank and Joe Hardy instead.
I don't know; that's one mystery the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew don't seem up to solving. Maybe a bit of both. Between the ages of 8 and about 12, I devoured as many of those books as I could find at the Carnegie Library in Kalispell, Mont. -- dozens of each, I'm sure. It wasn't until I was a young adult that I discovered, to my annoyance, that there was no such author as Franklin W. Dixon or Carolyn Keene. But by then I had gone on to darker fare: Raymond Chandler, John MacDonald -- even a bit of Mickey Spillane.
I know: a middle-aged man's recollections of his halcyon youth can get tiresome real fast. And I know without having to reread them that most of those early teen-detective series were, and remain, mostly crap. But I believe that for better or worse, they helped form one habit I can't help but appreciate: reading a book in bed each night before going to sleep. They're not always crime novels and some have been masterpieces -- I was unable to sleep for a couple of nights after finishing "In Cold Blood" when I was 16. It remains one of the most chilling things I've read. I wept on my pillow after "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- although, come to think of it, that could almost be crime fiction too: a secret revealed after a alleged rape, two homicides and a harrowing assault on a child.
My adult children are all avid readers, and I like to think it's because I encouraged them to be at a very early age. If they ever get around to thanking me for it, I'll just tell them to thank Frank and Joe Hardy instead.
Comments
===================
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Actually, Frank and Callie Shaw are back together after some rocky times in their marriage. Joe and Iola Morton divorced years ago, and Chet is prospering as a designer and software consultant in Greenwich Village, where he moved from Bayport whe he turned 26.
===================
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com
I read Lord of the Flies when I was about 9, and could not sleep for weeks, it gave me dreadful nightmares.
I also remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird when young (maybe 14) and the impression it made. Cannery Row also. It wasn't until ages later that I realised Mac and the boys (my heroes, along with Doc) living in their pipe were actually unemployed guys hanging around all day. I just adored them. I don't think I'd dare go back and read that book again now, I loved it so much. (I didn't think so much of the sequel, Sweet Thursday. I think it was Thursday.)
Know what you mean about "Lord of the Flies." I think it must have helped shape my somewhat critical view of humanity.
Dave, I realized after my last comment that you may have been serious that Chet Morton was gay. I think the Hardy Boys television series, which came along years after I had read the books, had contemporary touches. Maybe that was one of them. I also wonder if the series ever sent Frank and Joe to a foreign land, where learning a few muttered words of the local language would be enough to let them pass, as it was in the books.
===================
Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/